'The Laser Era': Israeli Military to Acquire Personal Laser Defense Systems for Troops

Wednesday, 27 November 2024 | The Defense Ministry and defense industry giant Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are set to sign a major new deal in the coming months to procure compact anti-missile laser systems for intercepting anti-tank missiles and other aerial threats designed to protect infantry soldiers.

This development is set to revolutionize the battlefield, comparable to the first operational deployment of the Israel Defence Force’s [IDF] Trophy active protection system fitted on tanks or the Iron Dome's first interception.

The military is expected to integrate and equip its forces with Rafael's innovative system—an active laser-based defense array that will likely be deployed with elite units and combat brigades initially. 

The system can neutralize threats such as anti-tank missiles and kamikaze drones targeting soldiers by using a laser beam to burn and destroy the threat mid-air automatically, whether the troops are maneuvering in enemy territory or on routine border security missions.

The deal is expected to be finalized soon and will join Rafael's other groundbreaking defense systems, such as the Trophy system, which successfully intercepted hundreds of threats targeting Merkava Mark IV tanks and Namer armored personnel carriers over the past year along the Gaza Strip and Lebanon border.

The new system may arrive in the IDF as early as next year and is inspected as part of a broader weapons system that could also include remotely operated machine guns and possibly a 30-mm cannon, enhancing both the unit's defensive and offensive capabilities.

This compact laser system is also expected to reduce IDF operational costs. Each laser activation costs only a few dollars, compared to the thousands required for each Trophy system interception.

"Rafael managed to develop solutions for atmospheric disturbances and concentrate energy into a laser beam capable of striking a target the size of a coin, neutralizing it by unifying multiple beams into a single one before impact," security sources explained. "This is even simpler than for shorter ranges than long ones, fit for infantry defense."

Last month, the Defense Ministry signed a massive 2 billion shekel (US $549 million) deal to significantly expand the deployment of the Iron Beam laser interception system. "This deal heralds a new era—the laser era," said Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, noting that the first operational utility of the ground-based laser system is expected to be ready within a year.